Process of making paper boxes and the like



Aug.-21, 1928. v 1,681,212

S. BERGSTEIN PROCESS OF MAKING PAPER BOXES AND THHLIKE Filed Dec. 15,1924 :s Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 21, 1928. 1,681,212

' SUBERGSTEIN PnocEs' s OF MAKING PAPER BOXES AND THE LIKE Fi led Dec.15, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 12 g a O 10 15 s o WI 16 15 q 0 0 0 75, WWW QD 3.9 Ji 5 39 n 5a 4 MM M W 3 [lump 6 9 Aug. 21, 1928. 1,681,212 5.BERGSTEIN PROCESS OF MAKING PAPER BOXES AND THE LIKE I Filed Dec. 15,1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 .5 CJC) f4 J WW Patented Aug.- 21, 1928.

k UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEJ SAMUEL nnnes'rnm, or MIDDLETOWN, orrio,ASSIGNOR To THE INTERSTATE FOLDING A i .IBOX COMI'ANY,- or MIDDLETOWN,01:10.

rnoonss or nAkI vGrAPER'BoxEs AND Tanzania.

Application med December 15', 1924; Serial 1%. 755,931.

This invention'relates to a new process of making paper boxes,havinglpartioular reference to boxes in which certain portions jthereof, as end or side portions, are glued together to efiect the shapeof the box and to give the same the strength required in its use. 7 i

The main invention is a new process, adapted to be practiced on anysuitable apparatus, for making boxes variable shapes and sizes wherebybox blankscut and scored in the usual manner can be positioned onaforming device in such a manner that like parts thereof will be actedon by automatic mechanismto fold one part relative to another to applyan adhesive to thefolded parts, and to apply pressure thereto whereby toeffect joints of uniform adhesion pthenecessary operationsbeingplerformed 111 a progressive sequence in whic all duplicateorsimilar operations on difierent parts of the boxare made simultaneously.

A further object attained in the invention isa process of paper boxmakingadapted to be practiced ona simplemach1ne,hav1ng a relativelylarge output and adapted to be attended by an unskilled operator, thusmaking the-practice oftheinvention available to users of'paper boxes whowish to avoid carrying a large stock of read made boxes, and at thesametime. to avoi incident to the filling of; small quantity orders bymanufacturers; r

The new process' involves certa nnovel operationsin connection with"formlng the adhesive joints which act to )n ior'e firmly 1 unite theco'acting'parts one with another 4 and thus to produceijoints of firmeradhesion andconsequently of greater strength.

The new process may be practiced on any suitable apparatus, a preferredconstruction b in shown IILthG aCCOIHPZIIIyHIg drawings and described indetail the 'following specification, for the purposeof illustrating thepractice of the invention."

1 In the drawings: i p I "Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of the machinepartlyin section; Q 4 f 7 v Fig. 2 is a detail elevationot the adhesiveapplying mechanism; p

i Fig. 3 isa side elevation of .the machine taken at rightangles of Fig.1;

object sought to be. accom plished and attained in the practice of mythe usual delays for operating the machine; Fig.5 is a detail sectionalejecting mechanism;

Fig; 6 is a plan view of the worktable;

F ig. 7 is" detail side elevation of the worktable and box supportingunits;

' Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of the joint forming mechanism.

The apparatus here shown consists of c'oordinated mechanisms arranged ona vertical column 1, having a base 2 and a head 2, a work-head supportedrotatably in "a horiz ontal plane on column 1 and consisting of fourradiallyextended arms 3 which are ar ranged at right angles one relativeto the ot l1er,-e ach of the arms 3 being provided with a box formingblock 4. Associated Fig. 4gis a side elevationof the gear train view ofthe box.

with the Work-head and adapted to ooact with the forming blocks 4; are aduplex gluing n'i'echanism 5-6 anda duplex joint-forming mechanism 78and coordinated mechanisnis which will presently be described in -thedetailed specification. Operation of the several units of the 'inachineis effected by means of a powerliead comprising a motor 9, reduction andtransmission gearing {'10, 11 12, 13, Hand 15c'onstituting a gearedtransmissionfrom the motor 9 to'the main drive shaft 16; a belt andbalance wheel 17 being interposed between gearsll and 12, the same beingadapted to have a power belt applied thereto for operatingthe machine"independently of the-'motor 9; Gear 15 is mounted free on drive shaft16, its operative relation therewithbeing controlled by means connectedby arod20 to a treddle 21 in base of a spring tensioned clutch1nechanism18 wh ch 18111111111 controlled-by a trip pin 19 2 of themachine -the clutch mechanism being of Well known construction andcommonly known as a tight-andrloose pulley connection.

Rotatable movement is transmitted from shaft 16 to the ivork tablethrough bevel gears 2223,"shaft 24, bevel gears 25, 26,

shaft 27, pin gear 28, Geneva gear 29, spur gears 30, 32, 33 and bevelgears 3l35, the gear 35 being secured to the work'table. As

quarter-turn of the work-table upon each full rotation of the pingearf28 which advances the'Geneva gear 29 a quarter turn here showmthegearing is timed to cause a upon each driving engagement"therewith;

ill)

the entire gear train being retained at rest between operations of theGeneva gear by the interlocking relation between gears 2S--29 in themanner well known in Geneva gears.

The box forming blocks 4 are mounted on the radial extensions 3, whichmay properly be termed the work-table anvils, to have limited verticalmovement relative thereto, each block being formed of two piecesaninverted U-shapcd inner member 4 which is connected direct to the anvilby means of pins 36 set in the opposite sides of the anvil and extendedoutward into vertically extended slots 37 in the opposite side walls ofpart 4. The relation of the parts are such that member 4 has limitedvertical movement, compression springs 38 being interposed between theanvil and the intermediate wall of part 4, there being a spring inwardlyadjacent each corner thereof, to support the forming block normally inraised position relative to the anvil. The other parts of the formingblock consist of the integral parts 4 which are secured to part 4 in anysuitable manner as by screws. Parts a of variable sizes are adapted tobe used intercluingeably on parts 4 thus to adapt the machine for makingboxes of different sizes.

lhe forming blocks are also provided with retaining clips 39 arrangedadjacent both ends of the block on opposite sides thereof, which serveto hold the box blanks E in position on the blocks during the gluing andjoint forming operations. Each formin block is also provided withejector, or kickoff mechanism for removing the finished box therefrom.This mechanism is composed of a lever 40 pivoted as at 41 on each ofparts to and provided at its lower free end with a roller or camfollower 42 disposed in the horizontal plane of an outwardly extendedcam 43 secured to column 1 of the machine, the coaction between theparts resulting in n reciprocal movement being given to lever l0 uponeach full rotation of the wo1'ktable. A link at is connected to lever40, intermediate roller 12 and its pivot center, and to a. rocker arm-15 secured to a transversely extended shaft 46 supported to part 4. Adownwardly extended kicker arm at? is fastened to shaft 46 and is thusadapted to be reciprocated outwardly upon each actuation of lever 40. Anupwardly extended kicker arm 48 is secured to a rocker shaft -19supported in the lower walls of part 4 and is operatively connected witharm at? by means of a roller 50 provided on arm 47 intermediate itsends. It will be observed that there are two of the arms 48 for eachejector mechanism and that arm 47 is interposed tl1erebetween,-arms 4:7and 48 being normally pressed inwardly and held in vertical relationrelative to blocks 4 by a spring 51 coiled on shaft 49 which acts alsoto return the arms to normal position after each actuation thereof, theoutward movement of the arms being effective to remove a box from theforming block, a: will be more fully explained in the detaileddescription of the operation of the machine.

As best shown in the plan view of the work-table in Fig. 6, the formingblocks are moved successively into positions A. l. (l and I), thesuccessive steps of forming a box beginning in position A where theattendant; of themachine places the box blanks on the forming blocks. Inthe machine as here shown, this is done by hand, but it will be clear tothose skilled in the art to which the invention pertains that the boxblanks can be readily positioned on the forming blocks by suitableautomatic mechanism under conditions of use where it may be desirablefor one operator to attend more than one machine.

As shown in Fig. (3, the work-hezul has' four work supporting units; ofidentical con struction which, when the machine is at. rest, occupypositions A. l), C and l) respectively, the direction of operation beingcounter-clockwise, as indicated by the arrow. In this position, oppositeoutwardly ex tended guides 52 are supplied to position the box forheighton the box supporting block -L so that the folds for forming thejoints will be uniform on all the boxes. To this end, arms 52 are formedconcave, V-shaped as here shown, on their under side to receive theopen, upward extended flaps a, of the end of the box and to hold thesame in vertical position until the first step of folding has been made.Arms are supported on a bar 53 which is slotted as at 54: to allowvarying the spacing of the arms relative to each other and to suit thewidth of the box for which the adjustment is made, ba 53 being in turnsupported by a block 55 adjustable vertically on a rod 56 secured in aplate 57 fixed to the head support of the machine whereby to set thearms .72 according to the height of the end flaps -/1. of the box.

An arm 58 is pivoted on rod 56 at its buFu and in its idle position isdrawn in clockwise direction against a stop 59 by a spring (it), the armhaving secured therein a rearwardly extended, curved rod (31 which inturn has a linger (32 and curved rod (33 secured thereto, the rod (3being adjustable on rod (ll longitudinally thereof. This mechanismserves to effect the first fold of the box,-a lug 64 extended upwardlyfrom each end of the anvils 3 acting upon rotation of the work head toengage the finger (52 and thus to rock arm 58 on its pivot center and tomore arm 63 forward, in advance of the movementof the work-head, intoengagement with the adjacent end flap --(r. of the box at right anglesover the edge of the forming block llif) extending assume 4, springacting to retract arm 58 as; lugs (itpass out of engagement with finger62. The opposite end fla -a,

ment with the other arm 52 and upon further advancement of the work headis i brought into engagement with a' circumferentially extended tubular:rod supported outwardly of the machine on brackets 66-437 in a plane andin a manner to effect a corresponding fol d of theopposite 'flap- --a,both flaps w"being thenheld in folded relation as the unit supportingthe box moves to position B. Brackets 66-96:? are slotted as at 68--69and tubular, rod is air-i ranged telescopically with a second rod 70 topermit of adjusting the rods radially relative to, the work head tosuitvariationsin the size of boxes.

, The outstanding improvement in'the ma-w chine of the present inventionover i the machineof the former application for patent i the oppositeend: of' the box to; effect folds thereon substantially inthe samemanner as in the first instance described, the-duplicate parts beingnumbered 52 and 7 0 inclusive. The action on the opposite ends of thebox is simultaneous, thearrangement and operation of thefoldingmechanisms in the upper andlower planes of operationbeingsubstantially the same except that the operations are in inverse order,i. e., the upper end of thebox is folded downward and the lower end isfolded: upward;

The adhesive for thejoints is applied to the folded ends of thebox inposition 'B, the adhesive mechanism comprising upper and lower unitscoact-ing one with the other to apply the adhesive tobothsides of thebox. simultaneously. The upper unit of the mechanism consists of anadhesive container 71-suspendcd1on a bar 72whichis supported in. openbearing slots 73 0ft mounted on the head casting of the machine to. havevertical reciprocal action thereon; operable movement being giventheretoiby means of a pinvand groove connection 7 5- 76 with the maindrive shaft 16, the details of the arrangement being of welliknownconstruction. Theycontainer 71 is provided with a plurality offspringtensioned valve stops 77 coacting with ports in the bottom of,

the container, theends vofithe valve stops through the ports and beingadapted upon reciprocation of the container to be broughtinto contactwith the folded v upon rotation of the work head, ismoved out ofengageof adhesive on the opposite spaced arms 74 formed integrally onewith the other and u-pperends of the 'boxsupported on the forming block.It will be understood that the valve stops act to close the ports whenthe container ism raised position, and on the down stroke of themechanism when their projecting ends come in contact with the end of thebox on the forming block, and the same are pressed upward to open theports and thus cause a regulated portionof adhesive to gravitate to theend of the stops,

the same act to affect a deposit of adhesive from each stop ontheyfolded ends of the boxblanks. The lower unit, mechanism cons1sts of.a container 78 supof the adhesiveapp y i-T port-ed on a plate 79,secured to column 1 by means of set screws 80 operable in slots- Sl inplate 7 9",'thearrangement making provision for vertical adjustment ofthe container as, required to suit the size of the boxes. Acting withcontainer 7871s an ad hesive depositing mechanism comprisinganangular-shaped member 8 2 secured to, a ver-, tically shdabl-emember 83by means of a set screw 84 operablein a slot, 85 which adapts part 82'tobe adjusted vertically on part 83 in order to retainthe same in normalrelation; with container 78. Part 83 is sup ported on part 79 by means.of bearing blocks 86, and is adapted to be reciprocated vertically by apitman 87 connected to a pitman wheel secured to pin gear 28. The

lower portion of member SQextends over the adhesive container, which isopen. at the top, and has. arranged thereon a' series ofspring-tensioned pins 89 which are adapted tobe submerged, upon thedownward vertical; neciprocationof part 82, adhesive in container 78,and on the-upward movement-to be brought yicldingly in contact with thefolded lower end of; the box on the supporting.block 4 and thus toeffect a deposit of adhesive thereon from each of thepins S9,theymovementbeing iimed'to be substantially simultaneouswith the depositend of the'bcx from container 71,

As here shown, position 0 of the work;

table, is an idleposition which allows a short pausein the sequence ofoperations to permit the adhesive, applied to the parts of the box to bejoined together, to cool andset to a desired extent sjition D, thecoacting part -7) of the ends in, the liquid lit! before the'joint-sarcformed. 7 As the box supporting units move to po e of the box isengaged,by extended arms 90 and 90 respectively of the mechanisms in the upperand lower planesof operation, and are folded over the previously foldedpa rts (r as the unit is moved to position D where the joints 1 areformed under opposite pressure heads 7, and 8.

: Pressure head 7 is reciprocally operable on the power head casting 2,being connect ed to main drive shaft 16 as at75 in a man nor similar tothe connection for actuating the adhesive container 71. The lowerpressure head 8 is supported on a screw 91 adjustable vertically in abearing extended outward from column 1. Coacting with screw 91 onopposite sides of bearing 92 are hand adjusting wheels J3 and Si bymeans oi which the screw and with it pressure head tt can be raised andlowered and retained in adjusted position. By this arangement the spacebetween pressure heads 7 and 8 can be accurately regulated according tothe height of the forming blocks 4, or the length of the boxes for whichthe machine is set up. From the illustrations of the drawings it will beunderstood that the upper end of the forming blocks is always in thesame horizontal plane regardless of the height of the blocks, thevarations of length being only in the lower plane of operation whereprovision is made for the same in the means for adjusting the loweradhesive and pressure n'ieclianisms.

For any given length of box, the maximum distance between pressure heads7 and 8 will be the length of the box, plus the ex tent of verticalmovement of the forming blocks l. the minimum distance being the lengthof the box with the ends compressed between heads 7 and S and theopposite ends of the forming block. It will thus be seen that the tirstaction of pressure head 7 on the forming block will be to force theblock downward against the resistance of springs 38 to the limit of thevertical movement of the blocks when the folded end portions of the boxhaving the adhesive thereon will be firmly pressed together to form thejoints, the amount of pressure applied in the operation being determinedby the adjustment of new 91.

its the forming blocks, carrying the completed boxes thereon, move fromposition D to position A, the cam follower 12 is brought into engagementwith cam 43 and the ejector arms t-.T-'l8 are actuated to kick the boxoil the forming block which will then be ready to receive another boxblank as it comes to a stop in the A position.

It will be noticed that the box supporting units 4t move in a plane andthrough a cycle of operation common to all the units, there being livesuccessive steps of operation in the cycle. i. e., placingthe box blankson the forming blocks, folding the parts to be glued to form the joints,applying the adhesive to the folded parts, forming the joints underpressure and removing the finished product from the forming blocks uponcompletion of the cycle.

From the foregoing detailed description of an apparatus suitable for thepractice of my invention thereon, and of the invention as practiced onsaid apparatus, the sequence of operations comprised therein and theresults accom' 'ilished, it will be seen that the invention provides asimple process for making boxes in large or small quantities atrelatively low cost, that all duplicate or similar operations offolding, gluing and forming the boxes are made simultaneously, that ahigh degree of uni'ttnanity and general quality of construction is thusobtained.

As far as 1 am aware, the ncw process of box making as herein describedand illustrated is broadly new in the art to which the inventionpertains, the same being a radical departure from the present knownpractice of making paper boxes: by automatic or semi-automaticllltltllllltl'y. 'lhe appended claims, therefore, define the inventionas broadly new in the \:tlit).;s ombinations of its underlyingprinciple.-.-', and also with respect to coordinated details ofoperation which adapt these principles to con'nnercial.

practice under varied conditioi'is of use.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. The herein described process of making paper boxes. consisting incausing box blanks to be folded over forms with flaps extended and to befurther subjected to successive mechanical operations; first, to ell'ectsimultaneous foldings of opposite like portions of said blanks; second,to cause a deposit of adhesive to be made on said opposite foldedportions; third, to cause other like portions of the blanks to be foldedover the first folded portions; and fourth, to ctl'ect adhesion betweenthe folded portions.

2. The herein described process oi making paper boxes consisting incausing box blanks to be folded over forms with flaps at opposite endsextended, and moved step by step with operating pauses between stepsthrough a sequence of simultaneous folding, gluing of folded portions,and joint forming operations at opposite ends of the box whereby toellect the structure thereof. the respective operations resultingsimultaneously on different boxes.

3. The herein described process of making paper boxes consisting, inpositioning box blanks on forms acting to determine one or moredimensions of a box, in causing the blanks so supported to be rotatedwith flaps extended in opposite planes parallel to the plane of the axisof rotation, in simultaneously effecting folds of said oppositelyextended portions, in applying adhesive to said folded portions, and incompressing the folds to effect adhesion thcrebetween. i

In testimony whereof, I allix my signature.

SAMUEL BERGSTEIN.

Inn

